Upcoming Sprint Triathlons -Yes, I Committed!

Yes, today I signed up for two different sprint triathlons that are coming up at the end of this summer.  Both of them are in Alabama, one in August in north Alabama and one at the coast in Gulf Shores, Alabama in September.

I try to do at least three triathlons minimum a year.  This year I decided to do only short ones, no half-Ironman or Ironman triathlons.  I am thinking about signing up for a half Ironman next year though.  Right now I am looking at a new half in Puerto Rico unless it fills up.  I'm not committing to it yet, so there is a good possibility it will fill up before I commit.

I am also still looking for a marathon to run this fall.  Since the wedding is in October, I am looking for a November or December marathon.  I haven't done a long run in two weeks, but I have been running several shorter runs.  I ran 6 miles Sunday in the heat at the beach.  I did lower body strength training Monday at the gym and then ran last night after we got home.  My legs are pretty sore right now despite not doing a long run.  It was the strength training.

The first sprint triathlon I signed up for is in two weeks.  It is a 600 yd lake swim, 16 mile bike ride and 5k run.  It's short, but fast.  I need to swim at least a couple of times before the race.  Probably need to get on my tri bike too.  Wouldn't be a bad idea.  I have been doing this race almost every year for about 12 years now.  I've only missed maybe 2 years since I first started racing.

The lake swim course use to be so shallow you could walk it if you didn't know how to swim or didn't swim well.  Beginners would do this race and actually walk all or part of the swim course.  The race director did NOT like this at all so she changed the swim course so now you have to swim out further and come back in instead of just out a little and then parallel the shore and back in.

Now you are forced to swim because it gets too deep to walk.

I never walked the swim course,  but I've bumped into walkers on the swim course a lot.  I'm glad the race director changed the course so racers can't walk anymore.  It's funny every year though, whenever she warns racers at the beginning of the race that everybody is going to have to swim.  No walking, so you better have a decent back paddle, free style or a good doggy paddle, cause if you don't you will be in trouble!  Big trouble!

Memory Lane

I was going through all the songs on my Ipod today and I came across this one called "Low" from Flo Rida.  You may or may not remember it from 2007/2008.  Talk about songs bringing back old memories!

The minute I heard this song, I immediately thought of all those times several years ago when I use to get up at 4 a.m and get to the YMCA as soon as they opened the doors so I could swim laps before work.  Getting up at dark to go swim mindless laps = not fun memories, but back then I was a machine and HAD to do it before getting the boy to school and myself to work.  This would free up my evening for running and biking.

Why this song brings back those long ago insane swim memories?  Because almost EVERY SINGLE MORNING without fail, when my alarm radio would go off, this song would be blasting.  Coincidence?  I don't know.   I think back then, this song was just so popular the radio stations played it every 20 minutes round the clock.

I thought the song was kind of fun, but I never really understood some of the lyrics.  Those lyrics about jean fashion. (and Reebok's with straps)

I mean 20 laps in the pool later and I'm still wondering what the heck are apple bottom jeans with the fur???  Apple???  Fur???  Is this a sexual reference?  A certain part of the anatomy?  Or some special kind of jean with apple bottoms and fur? 

Iron Girl Gone Bad

The pool is shaping up nicely

It seems like I spend more time these days taking pictures of bodies of water (such as swimming pools) than actually getting in them and swimming laps.  I realize at some point this has to stop if I am going to race this year.  I'm always in the pool a couple of times a week by now.

 I could use the excuse that I am no longer a member of the Y and my new gym doesn't have a pool.  I could also say that the pool in the back yard has looked more like a fungus filled mud hole until a couple of days ago.  It looks very inviting now, but it isn't quite long enough to swim a good lap in so there's my excuse for that.

I have always been a pro at good excuses to get out of swimming too much.  In fact, the only time I have ever put in a consistent 3 days a week, at least a mile or more swim is when I have signed up for at minumun a half ironman.  More if I am training for an Ironman.  But not much more.  I just make one of my swims a long 2 hour straight swim.  Sprints, not so much.

I realize I could do so much better in a race if I got in the water on a regular basis.  My lack of water time was never much of an issue when I was a stronger biker.

That's the other problem.  In order to be a stronger biker, I know I need to put more time in on the saddle and that doesn't mean just trainer rides, exercise bikes or spin classes.   I love (loved) biking so I don't really have any reason for not riding except I'm just being bad.  I'm an Iron Girl gone bad.  It's a simple as that.

Donuts, alcohol, chips, sugary sweets combined with no swimming and very little biking.

Put me in time out!

Cream filled Dunkin Donut....

I eat way to much sugar including pigging out on Dunkin Donuts this week along with other kinds of sweets.  The other day I recklessly started tweeting about all the Dunkin Donuts I was eating and the next day the" Find Healthy Snacks Girl" was following me on Twitter.  Coincidence or is "big brother" watching?   Was this a sign that I need to become a healthier snacker or else??

I was so worried that the Murph and I checked our blood sugar levels with his dad's diabetic kit when we were in New Jersey a couple of days ago.   I was relieved to find that despite all the sugar, desserts, pasta and alcohol I had consumed all that day, my blood sugar was normal.

 But now what?  It is May and I haven't been in the pool since last October.   I have only been on my bike a handful of times and here I am wanting to qualify for the Ironman World Championship in Kona.  I am also planning on doing some races in June.  Less than a month away.  I know I can do it even without all the training and discipline I usually have by now because I have been racing for almost 15 years.

Will it be painful?  Yes.  Will my time totally suck?  Yes.  Do I need to get my procrastinating butt in the pool and on my bike?  Hell, yes!  Enough already.

I have a Running Nazi to hold me accountable for running.  I just need to find a Swimming Nazi and a Bike Nazi.  Then I will swim way more than I want and bike more than I want.  Then I will get on here and write blog posts about them cussing at them to make me feel better.

It's a perfect solution cause then I will get all the training I need and lots of writing practice too and they will never know that I blog about them.  The Running Nazi doesn't know unless I tell her and she doesn't care anyway.  (I don't think she cares)

My goal is to get faster.  To get faster I need to go shorter distance first and then get longer and try to stay fast.  Then I will be fast enough to qualify for Kona.

 I'm already fast enough in my dreams.  Blazing fast.  In my dreams I swim every single night.  At some point during REM sleep between frantically searching for my bike helmet, goggles, race number, and various other race gear (during my dreams for some reason I always forget my racing gear) and getting lost along the course.

 Getting lost on the course is a recurring dream since that time last summer when the Nazi and I got lost running without fluids in 90 degree F. temps in what should have been a familiar neighborhood.

Then the cat usually wakes me up from this dream/nightmare by pawing me in the face.

My plan is to just slip in and start training like I've been doing it for months.  Hopefully, my body won't notice.  I have been running fairly steadily thanks to marathon training so the running part is easy.   I have also been working out at the gym doing weights and at least 30 minutes of cardio every single day for over a year now.

It's all mind over matter anyway.  This should work, right?